Local MP Connor Rand has called for careful assessment of a High Court ruling that could pave the way for councils to remove asylum seekers from hotels, as pressure mounts on Trafford Council to take similar action over the Cresta Court hotel in Altrincham.
The Altrincham and Sale West MP's comments come after Epping Forest District Council successfully obtained a temporary injunction to block asylum seekers from staying at The Bell Hotel in Essex, sparking calls from Reform UK and Conservative councils for similar legal action across the country.
Speaking to Altrincham Today, Rand said the government needed to "carefully look and assess the implications" of the Epping ruling before any decisions are made about the future of the Cresta Court, which has been housing asylum seekers since its conversion in October 2024.
"I think it's a temporary injunction, and we have to wait to see the wider implications and ramifications," Rand said. "I don't think we can read too much yet from the decision, because it's a temporary injunction."
The Epping case succeeded because the council argued the hotel had unlawfully changed its use and become a public safety risk, with evidence of protests leading to violence and arrests. For other councils to follow suit, legal experts say they would need to demonstrate similar local harms to the High Court.
Pressure on Trafford Council to follow Epping's lead has intensified following a formal letter from the Trafford Conservative Group to Chief Executive Sara Todd, demanding urgent action.
In the letter, Conservative group leader Nathan Evans argues that the Epping ruling "provides a clear legal precedent that must now be taken into account by other local authorities, including Trafford".
Evans highlights that the Cresta Court hotel "has not applied for, nor been granted, planning permission for a change of use" and calls on the council to "reassess whether the Cresta Court's current use constitutes a material change of use under planning law."
Evans also points to the hotel's proximity to "five local schools" and cites "weekly protests, disruption to residents and businesses, and negative impacts on the town centre" as evidence of local harm.
The use of the Cresta Court hotel to house asylum seekers has become the most prominent local issue since Rand's election, with regular protests taking place outside the venue that was once a popular location for weddings, christenings and community events.
Rand said he understood the anger felt by local residents.
"Of course I understand it. My late sister-in-law had her wedding at the Cresta Court. That's part of the reason why we need to get it returned to its normal use as quickly as possible."
The MP acknowledged the "understandable, genuine and serious concerns" of local residents while condemning the involvement of far-right groups in recent protests. "We have seen Britain First activity, we have seen Patriotic Voice activity, some organised far-right activity around the hotel, which of course I don't want to see," he said.
He said he had also been seeking to challenge "some of the fake news we have seen locally". He added: "I talk to the police every week to make sure that community safety is a top priority... I've tried to push and scrutinise the government to get it returned to its normal use as quickly as possible, alongside our broader commitment to close every asylum hotel."
Rand pointed to what he described as significant progress in addressing the asylum hotel crisis nationally. He claimed the government has returned "more people with no right to be here than any comparable period under any previous government" and reduced the asylum decision backlog from 150,000 when Labour took office.
"There are obviously fewer asylum hotels open now nationwide," Rand said, noting that the number has dropped from a peak of over 450 under the previous Conservative government to just over 200 today.
However, the government's pledge to close all asylum hotels by the next election in 2029 has drawn criticism for being too distant.
"The pledge to close all asylum hotels by the next election is a clear manifesto commitment that the party has given," he added. "It's one I support, and one I think the majority of people in the country very much support. So yes, it's realistic. I think it's deliverable, and I think this government must deliver it."
